Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

We take music experience to the next level by producing an AR app that offers the fans the possibility to go on a virtual journey together with the band instead of being a passive spectator. Through gamification the users explore worlds built from real life elements from the band’s almost 30 year history, creating a stronger and more intimate connection between fans and band. The actual music video was then shot within the app and only enriched with traditional content. Combining the app with the more traditional video allows for a new level of interaction between fans and the band.

Background

In the wake of their 30 year anniversary Germany’s most prominent hip-hop band was about to launch their new album when they approached us. The band had been at the forefront of technology in music for years, hence the brief to create something completely new on the music market, using cutting edge technology. Their initial idea was to produce a video in Virtual Reality. After we presented them an AR prototype, the advantages of AR in terms of audience reach and level of interactivity won them over.
The goal was to disrupt the traditional music video market by shifting the focus away from the typical “fan as a spectator” role to engaging him actively in the video experience via elements of gamification and the ability to move around within the video.

Describe the creative idea

We wanted to transform the traditional music experience by combining the auditory with an interactive visual component. The result is an interactive music installation in augmented reality in which the user can become a part of the the song’s story.
The song’s title “Tunnel” sparked the idea to build a virtual drillhead out of the artists’ heads to let the user dig their own tunnel. The user travels with it through different layers of a virtual world displayed onto his real world surroundings, letting him discover ever new spaces. By integrating experiences and successes of the band's almost 3 decades in the music business into a cutting edge AR app we combined the origins of the German hip-hop scene with the most recent developments in consumer technology.

Describe the strategy

In the wake of Apple’s AR kit release we introduced a new innovative use of the technology in the so far untargeted music market, opening a new market for AR applications.
By offering an app, the strategy focused not only on distribution via traditional media channels but also via the app store with apple featuring in Germany. The corresponding more traditional music video was then largely generated from in-app recordings. It only launched a day after app and song release to further increase reach, completing the multi-channel strategy. A contest selecting the best user generated videos with the app’s Destruction Mode feature was held a few days later to keep up fan engagement. The band’s core audience is aged 35-50 and German speaking. The inclusion of cutting edge AR technology and the related increase in media coverage broadened the audience, taking digital natives as well as new listeners on board.

Describe the execution

The AR App for the German song “Tunnel” by the 4 person band Die Fantastischen Vier takes the user on a trip through one of their latest songs “Tunnel”, by letting him use an AR drillhead to dig a tunnel through different layers of an imaginary world. Apart from the music experience the app includes a feature in which the user can drill an AR drillhead into any place in their natural surroundings and record a video of that to share it on social media.
The app is part of a larger campaign for the release of the band’s newest song that additionally includes a music video produced largely from in-app recordings. The campaign is widespread across communication channels: App Store featuring, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, TV, and the band’s website. The project took roughly 4 months from brief to finish.

Describe the outcome

The app is available for Iphones with the campaign focussing exclusively on the German market. The app alone reached roughly 40 000 downloads, 200 000 product page views and over 6.5 million impressions on the app store within in the first two weeks after release.
Users spend on average more than 5 minutes with the app, almost twice as long as the song’s duration.Total user play time over the first two weeks amounted to 132 days of constant 24 hour play. A third of the users took videos within the app, allowing them to share them on social media. Additionally, the campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube resulted in about half a million video plays with a reach of over 1 million. The multi-channel approach did not only introduce a new medium of interaction to the band’s core audience (aged 35-50) but also took digital natives on board!